Digging Into Digital Storytelling
I found myself thinking about my classroom experiences, wondering how I might be able to help teachers get started and just as I started feeling overwhelmed… I heard these words…
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Yes &… with Digital Tools We Can
As we set off to create writers who write in tandem with the printed world and the digital world there are a few we need to consider.
Four Mentor Texts to Nurture the Relationship Between a Writer and a Notebook: Notebooks as a Writers Tool
Writers pause to notice the obvious and obscure moments in life. They preserve their memories in their notebooks by jotting words, tucking away photographs, ticket stubs, and other items that have left an… Continue reading
A License to Write: Giving Ownership to the Writer
I am a writer and a teacher of writing. I have experienced the pivotal role ownership has on my writing and my willingness to write. As teachers of writing, we have the opportunity to give the students in our classrooms the license of ownership over their writing.
Exposing, Sharing, & Connecting: Helping Writers See Why We Write
When we know the purpose or the why in our work we work intentionally. As teachers, knowing our writers are working with intention allows us to trust the students. With trust, we can step back and allow students to make the decisions about their writing.
Getting to Know Your Writers
The decisions I make from the classroom library to family connections are intentional and responsive to building a community of writers and learning about the students who make up this community.
SOL Tuesday
WRITE a slice of life story on your own blog. SHARE a link to your post in the comments section. GIVE comments to at least three other SOLS bloggers. … Continue reading
Building Word Superheroes: With Permission and Invented Spelling
Teaching students to take the risks necessary to be inventive spellers means I have to respect the stage of development of the student. I can’t expect the students to know (or use) something I haven’t taught. It also means communicating to parents about what it means to use inventive spelling and its role in developing writers and readers.
SOL Tuesday
For the last two weeks, I have had the privilege of visiting classrooms and talking about kindness. After watching the Kid President video, 20 Things We Should Say More Often the teacher and… Continue reading
It’s SOL Tuesday
Today, on the 17th anniversary of the tragic day, 9/11 choose kind. Even the smallest act of service, the simplest act of kindness, is a way to honor those we lost, a… Continue reading
The Forging of a Writing Community
No longer scared and timid, our work has forged a community of writers.
SOL Tuesday
As you join us on Tuesday year-round for Slice of Life we hope to learn about how being a teacher who writes is making its presence in your days.
This is the Year I’m Going to Integrate Technology
“Digital tools are in your stance. They’re not a seasoning or a decoration.” Cornelius Minor #TCRWP
Infusing Technology: It’s More Than Apps and Devices
As I sat down to write my post for the upcoming series, titled: Dreaming Big for This Year’s Writing Workshop I thought back to when I opened my writing workshop to digital tools.… Continue reading
OLW CHECK-IN: EMBRACE
Maybe it was Betsy’s post, OLW Check-in: Note that first brought the whispers. As I read her post and thought about my final week of school I heard the whispers grow louder. Embrace.
Scaffolding Student Blogging: Setting Students Up For Success
Using what we know about best practice and scaffolding writers, our blog writing begins.
Making the Writer Better: Getting Started with Blogging
As I move forward in planning summer professional development for the teachers in my district, I am already finding the infographic invaluable. In planning my session, “Getting Started with Blogging” I found the information on the infographic guiding each slide and each step as I planned the presentation.
Make Writing Better. Start With The Writer.
Think about the writer and making the writer better. What are the needs of a writer? What opportunities does technology offer to make the writer better?
Our Most Powerful Tool- Our Words: Looking Back And Moving Forward
In Visible Learning For Literacy, Fisher, Frey, and Hattie, explain “When feedback is delivered in such that it is timely, specific, understandable, and actionable students assimilate the language used by their teacher into their self-talk. (2016, 100)” These words stopped me. When our words become the self-talk of our students, they become the most influential tool we have as teachers.
No More Cookie-Cutter Teaching
As educators, we need to take ownership of our teaching. If you think your tried and true lessons are lackluster, change them. Start with looking at your students and asking yourself, what do my students need? What are their strengths? Next, look at the VERBS in your standards. Precisely what is it your students need to master in this unit? Finally, embrace the art of teaching, follow their lead.